Denim life-extender: visible mending for beginners

Learn patching techniques for repairing the rips and worn out pockets, knees, bums and crotches of your hardworking denim, using Japanese sashiko threads and reclaimed embroidery floss.

Suitable for absolute beginners and those with some hand-sewing experience.

We’ll cover the completely practical aspects:
•  what to consider when approaching a repair
•  how to match the weight and attributes of your garment and planned repair
•  tensioning and setting up for success
•  when and how to reinforce
•  what to have in your repair kit
•  where to source needles, threads and fibres
•  how to shop for clothes which are more repairable, without spending more money
•  how to avoid buying clothes which can’t be recycled at end of life
•  ideas for reuse of denim which is beyond repair

And the inspirational:
•  a very brief history of textile repair
•  the traditions of textile mending in diverse cultures
•  how recently mending practices were ubiquitous in Australian households (1950s!)
•  the neuroscience of why mending is a valuable self-care tool
•  a slideshow of beautiful mends, from vintage to contemporary
•  a resource list of wonderful mending books at Instagram accounts

This workshop will begin with a short talk and slideshow, followed by a mending demonstration. We’ll show you how to finish off a mend, using the old cooking show trick, “here’s one we prepared earlier”.

Then it’s practice time! We’ll get refreshments, rejig into small groups, and support everyone to get repairs underway.

Jeans, shirts and jackets made of rigid (non-stretch) denim are the best candidates for repair.

All materials will be provided, including denim of various weights and washes. You’ll take home the needle and thread you’ll need to complete your mend. We’ll also have a small range of supplies available for purchase.

Afterwards, browse the Bower's retro boutique and the Re Place reused clothes shop, open till 3pm.

Any questions, please email textiles@bower.org.au. Our venue is accessible and our aim is to be inclusive of everyone and all support needs. Please contact us to request specific supports.

A note re pricing: we do our best to make Bower Textiles workshops affordable. We’re making 2 tickets available for low-income participants, on a trust basis. Once they’re gone, they’re gone, but we’ll do the same for future workshops. We’re also offering members of our community the opportunity to contribute towards this accessibility by choosing a Pay it Forward ticket.

Course tutors:  Rachel Power 
Rachel is a writer, editor and researcher who started her working life writing about fashion. She developed her textile repair practice as a way to think through ideas about textile waste prevention and materialism versus consumerism. She works intuitively within defined limits, whether mending woven cloth by patching and stitching, darning jumpers or upcycling. As the Bower’s head of textile repair, Rachel loves devising creative textile workshops and empowering others by teaching methods for making, reuse and repair.  

The Bower

The Bower is a not-for-profit organisation with a

mission to: Reduce the amount of hard waste going to landfills through

education, repair, reuse and resale, Raise awareness of the value of

waste...